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Interesting facts:

 

Co-Producer David Mueller and Producer-Director Khashyar Darvich film the "Buddha Medicine" Ceremony at the Dalai Lama's main temple in Dharamsala, India in the Himalaya Mountains. Wakan Films had an 18-person crew (including 5 camerapeople) fly to India to film "Dalai Lama Renaissance."

 

1) Actor Harrison Ford is the narrator for “Dalai Lama Renaissance.” Harrison Ford’s films are the second highest grossing at the world-wide box-office than any other actor in history. He also works actively to preserve the environment, and has spoken before Congress about China and Tibet. “Dalai Lama Renaissance” is the 5th documentary that Harrison Ford has narrated.

2) “Dalai Lama Renaissance” features well-known Western innovative thinkers interacting with the Dalai Lama, including two stars from the hit theatrical documentary, “What the Bleep Do We Know”: Quantum Physicists and best-selling authors Fred Alan Wolf and Amit Goswami. Other notable figures in the film include renowned and charismatic Social Scientist Jean Houston, and AGAPE International Spiritual Center founder Michael Bernard Beckwith, and many others.

3) This is the first theatrical feature film about the Dalai Lama distributed for many years.

4) Provides a unique intimate experience with the Dalai Lama, rarely captured on film.

5) World-Class music has been offered for the film, including from Henry Reid (who is a contributor to the Grammy-nominated group “Manheim Steamroller” and studied under composer Henri Mancini), one of the greatest Sitar players in the world Roop Verma (who is a protégé of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar and Indian music legend Ali Akbar Khan), and renowned Tibetan musician Tashi Dhondup Sharzur. The film’s Music Supervisor, Michel Tyabji, has lived in Africa and India, and his recording company has recorded several African superstar musicians, and has distributed and sold millions of their CDs. We are continuing to receive a great deal of interest from top-notch composers to contribute their music to the film, and expect additional musicians to contribute to the documentary.

6) The producers of the documentary have won numerous awards for their previous production work, and have had their previous projects aired on the History Channel, PBS stations, CBS, NBC and other venues.

7) The film has been edited in a cinematic and visually interesting way, so that the visuals of the film are as powerful as the storyline. The documentary is not structured like a conventional dry one-camera documentary. It is visually, intellectually, and musically compelling.

8) The film is beautifully shot by a 5 camera film crew, and captures the culture and beautiful scenery of India.

9) The film has a strong dramatic structure and character arc, with many of the real-life characters going through profound change by the end of the film.

10) The film features Tibetan dance, music and mythology, including the exquisite Tibetan “Lhamo Opera.”

11) The purpose of the film is to create a powerful cinematic documentary that is commercially successful, but more importantly, that inspires and uplifts audiences so that they feel transformed in a positive way after viewing the film.

12) The film is being produced by the “Wakan Foundation for the Arts,” a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that has the aim of “uplifting and serving humanity through the arts.” All profit from the film will be used for other nonprofit purposes, including one-third of the profits supporting the preservation of Tibetan culture.

13) The documentary has been screened in front of several test audiences, and has received a very positive response, with some viewers stating that they have been profoundly changed after watching the Documentary.

14) The documentary will be transferred to film, and entered into the Academy Award competition, as well as into the Sundance and other major film festivals.

 

 
 

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